Through The Window
by AubriFalls
Summary: I glanced over to the window at the sun, which was climbing back up the mountain. "Will you come back?" Elsa asked, longingly. I looked at her and smiled. "Of course." I pulled my eyes away from her and leapt toward the window. In one swift motion, I ducked back under and flew through thin air, far away from Elsa. (Short fic)
1. Chapter 1

The first time I saw her, she was only a little girl.

I was mesmerized by her appearance.  
Her hair was unnaturally light in color. I could almost liken it to my own, which is achromatic.

My breath appeared as a circle of fog on her window. My hands rested against the glass pane as I peered in.

She was playing with another girl, who I assumed was a couple years younger than she was.  
The sound of their giggling wafted into my ears. It was like music to me.  
It was easy to see how much fun they were having together. It was easy to see the joy illuminating their childlike eyes.

My heart ached to be a part of it.

I watched them until the sun trudged downward, letting the moon resume reign over the Earth.  
At that point, two adults came in to tuck the girls into their beds.  
I had observed this ritual with other families on countless occasions.  
I could only assume that these regal-looking adults were the girls' parents.

The younger girl was tucked in first. Her bed was pink and very girlish. Her two braids spread out from her head and onto a pillow larger than her entire body.  
Her mother tenderly kissed her forehead.  
The girl was asleep before her parents could reach the opposite side of the room. This was where the other girl's bed was. The covering on her bed was blue, almost the exact shade of her silk nightgown.  
Her parents waited until she was situated and comfortable. Then, they each took their turn giving their affectionate goodnight kisses; one on her right cheek and the other on her left.

It was easy to see that the girls were loved.  
My heart ached with longing as I watched.  
Why did no one love me in this way?  
How I wished that _someone could love me_ and how I wished that _someone could see me_.

The mother went around the room, blowing out each candle until the dimly lit room wasn't lit at all. The glow of the moon cast it's light through the window and onto the floor.

The parents left the room. I heard the door click shut even here from my place at the window.

I should have left then. I normally would have.  
But, there was something quite entrancing about the girl with her nearly-colorless hair.  
I could not pull myself away

I watched her for quite some time as she lay in bed. The blue blanket covering her little body rose and fell ever so subtly from the rhythm of her breathing.

I must've fallen asleep while still at the window because I stirred awake a short while later. I hadn't heard any sound, but I could feel a disruption in my surroundings.

The girl with the light hair had arisen and was walking toward the window.  
Her tresses were slightly tousled and her nightgown was ever so rumpled.  
She came and sat upon the cushioned bench so that she might peer out at the night sky beyond.  
I let myself turn around so that I might follow her gaze.

The moon was big and round and bright.  
It was also silent.  
I knew that because I'd tried time and time again to get it to speak to me.  
It hadn't said anything for the longest time.  
I would always find myself talking to it.  
Who else would listen? No one could see me.

The orb of illumination was hanging high in the midnight sky before the both of us.  
It was eerily big and wonderfully whole on that particular night.

Looking back toward the little girl in the window, I could see the moon reflecting itself into her big, blue eyes.

"Why did you give me this gift?" Her muffled little voice passed though the glass of the window. She was trying to reach the moon, but I knew her voice would die out long before it could ever reach it.  
I could see a familiar expression on her face. It was the expression of someone who wanted answers. It's the same expression I'm sure I had on my own face all those times I'd called upon the moon.

"You won't get an answer." I couldn't help but say.

Her eyes grew very large and very wide.  
I'm sure my own eyes grew very large and very wide.  
_Had she heard me?_

"Who's there?" She peered out of the window, searching with desperation to see the form that had spoken.

"Can you hear me?" I asked, doubt seeping into my words.

"Of course." She seemed irritated by this question. Almost as if she assumed I was accusing her of being crazy.

"Well, most people can't."

"Who are you?" She demanded.

I breathed deeply into the glass of the window. This caused a thin layer of fog to appear in that area.  
I reached out to the glass and, with my index finger, wrote letters into the fog.

**_JACK FROST_**.

It appeared momentarily for the little girl to read before it disappeared altogether.

Her eyes widened more. She then jumped from her seat and drew away as if she had seen a ghost.

"What is it?" I questioned, sincerely concerned. "I don't bite."

"Y-y-you're standing right there." She stuttered, backing away two more steps.

"Yeah, I was standing here the whole time."

"No, you weren't..."

Now it was my turn to back away. Of course, being that I was on the roof, I backed away onto nothing but air.  
I stared at her, hovering a few feet away from the window, with eyes that I'm sure were probably just about as wide as hers.

"You... you can... _see me?_" I gasped.

The girl nodded, solemnly. "Yes."

A moment passed as we both dealt with our shock. When that moment passed, the little girl once again came forward and proceeded to yank the window open.  
I tried my best to aid her from out here.  
We both tugged as hard as we could to get the window ajar. When at last it was opened, just wide enough for me to come through, a cool breeze whizzed into the bedroom. It swirl around rambunctiously, causing the younger sister to stir in her bed.  
I tried to ease the wind's excitement, but I was only good at aggravating it more.

"Come on." The little girl urged, gesturing me to come through the window.

I ducked down, to avoid hitting my head, and squeezed my body through the opening.  
Upon entering the bedroom, I stood there and grinned down at the little girl. I was much taller than her.

"What is your name?" I inquired, for I had told her my own name, but I had not yet learned hers.

"Elsa." She replied. "And you're Jack Frost?"

"Yup." I made a goofy face. "The one and only."

"Do you want to play?" She looked up at me, expectantly.

Those words are like music to my soul.  
_I would love to play._

We started out by playing hide-and-seek.  
I stayed at the window seat. Concealing my eyes, I counted to thirty.  
I could have given her all the time in the world, but Elsa would never have found a good hiding spot.  
At that age, Elsa just didn't know how to hide.  
In her defense, there really wasn't many good spots in the bedroom anyway.

When it was her turn to count, I made myself up into a snowman.  
I didn't particularly need thirty seconds, but she gave it to me anyway.  
I admit, using my powers probably would have been considered cheating, but let's not get into technicalities.  
What are the perks of being Jack Frost when you cannot use your abilities whenever you please?

Finally, she called out the number thirty. She spun around only to be met with the face of a happy snowman holding onto it's staff. Unfortunately, it's face had the absence of a carrot. I cannot make carrots, only snowstorms.

She stopped in her tracks. "How did you do that?"

I popped out of the snowman._ Ta-da!_  
Just call me Jack-in-the-snowman.  
The snow tumbled out from around me and onto the bedroom floor.

"I'm Jack Frost." I answered, simply.

"But..." She paused. Her eyes were locked onto mine, entirely serious. "You made the snow? _You made it?_"

"Yes... I'm Jack Frost."

She rolled her eyes, frustrated by my lack of understanding. At that point, I didn't understand why she was so exasperated, but I found out.

"Look." She ordered. She waved her hand in the air.  
Just like that, a little snowman materialized next to her.  
My breath caught in my throat.

I had never met anyone else like me before.

We spent hours playing in the snow together.  
I made something and then she tried to replicate it. She succeeded every time.  
She was ecstatic each time she executed her powers in the way she had intended.  
I was ecstatic each time she let out that delightful laughter.  
Every so often, we would both start laughing too wildly. Her little sister would toss and turn in her bed. Holding our index fingers to our lips, we signaled to each other that we needed to be silent so as not to awaken anyone.  
Then, we would resume our fun and do it all over again.

It was one of the best nights of my existence.

When the sun started peaking back up over the mountains, it's radiant light peered through the glass of the window to alert us the coming of morning.  
We had played all night long.

Elsa glanced across the bedroom at the horrible mess we'd made.  
Her face clearly said, "What am I supposed to do about this."

"Watch this." I nudged her. I swept my hand forward, urging the wind to come sweeping into the room. It acknowledged my order, blowing in with enough force to pick up all of the snow that had built up in the bedroom floor. It swirled around and around, then proceeded back out through the opening from which it came. It took all the snow with it, carrying it back to the North Pole.

The bedroom floor was restored to it's original state, snow-less and dry.

"I should go." I glanced over to the window at the sun, which was climbing back up the mountain.

"Will you come back?" Elsa asked, longingly.

I looked at her and smiled. "Of course."

I pulled my eyes away from her and leapt toward the window. In one swift motion, I ducked back under and flew through thin air, far away from Elsa.


	2. Chapter 2

Approximately one year later, I came back to visit Elsa.

At first, I despaired because I thought she had gone away, but after thoroughly searching the castle, I finally found her in a different bedroom.  
She must have reached that age when it is considered improper to share a room with a younger sibling.

The room was orderly and I couldn't help but ponder over how troublesome it must be to live in a castle where you must keep all your belongings tidy.  
If I had a room, mine would have been a disaster.  
I probably would have been kicked out of this particular castle.

I must've had a room once, but I can't remember.

Elsa sat on her bed. It had an elegant canopy draping over the top, concealing the top half with her pillow from view.  
Because she was sitting on the end, with her legs swinging off the side, I could see her entirely.

The first thing I noticed about her was that she seemed unhappy.

Her arms were wrapped around herself and her face was set in a forlorn expression.

This was not at all like the first time I had seen her.

"Elsa." My whisper penetrated through the window.

Her head jerked up. She leapt off her bed and came racing toward the window. Her eyes lit up wonderfully when they captured my presence.

"Jack!" She pressed the palms of her hands against the window pane. I reached up and placed my own onto the opposite side of the glass from hers. I would have liked to compare our skin tones, but she had on a pair of white gloves. However, I could see that my hands were much larger in size.  
She had grown much in the year that had passed, but she was still a little girl.

Her hair was pulled back into a single braid down her back. She had a black headband, which worked together with her blue uniform to give her that school-girl appearance.

"Help me open the window." She commanded as she started tugging on the frame to get it opened. With my help, the frame came up easily. It came up as far as it was intended to, allowing me to enter without as much hassle as last time.  
I suppose, the window in the other room must have been jammed.

I came through the window and stood before Elsa once again in her bedroom.

"Are we going to play like we did last time?" I inquired.

I was surprised when she didn't jump at the idea. On the contrary, she seemed unnerved by it.

"I don't think we should today."

"Why not?" I urged. "You seem unsettled. What happened while I was away?"

Elsa distanced herself from me, walking back to sit on the edge of her bed.  
I followed and sat beside her.

She stared into the depths of her glove-covered hands. She remained silent for several moments before speaking again. When at last she spoke, she said in a very small voice, "I hurt my sister."

I remained quiet, silently willing her to go on.

She did. "We were just playing... like you and I did. But I struck her with my powers."  
Tears started falling steadily down her cheeks. Her little shoulders shook and her lip turned down.  
"I didn't mean to." She cried.

"Of course you didn't." I responded, shattering the sadness.

A knock resounded from the opposite side of Elsa's bedroom door. A sing-song voice rang out, "Elsa, do you want to build a snowman?"  
I knew it was Elsa's sister.  
She sounded as alive as ever and I knew that Elsa was being too hard on herself.

"Come on," I started to get up from the bed, but Elsa remained frigidly still. "We can all go build a snowman together."

"No!" Elsa snapped. Turning her head toward the door, she yelled, "Go away, Anna!"

"You can't just shut yourself in here, Elsa." I reasoned.

She looked up at me. Her eyes had a firmness in them. This made her look much more grown up. "I can if it keeps them safe."

"But look," I reached up and pulled a snowball out of nothingness. "You can't hurt me. I'm already frozen."

She was taken aback. Her eyes studied me intently, curious by the concept that I was just as she was.

"We'll play." She agreed, at last. "But I don't want to use my powers."

I understood why.  
If I had hurt someone dear to my heart, I probably would have felt bitterness toward the snow lurking within me as she seemed to feel bitterness toward the snow within her.  
I couldn't help but worry for her.  
She had fear that was starting to grow in her heart.  
Fear can be a very powerful thing.

Instead of making a winter wonderland of her room, I decided to respect her desires and not use my powers, either. At least... I wouldn't make it snow, frost, freeze, or sleet.

Setting my staff down atop the soft blanket of her bed, I freed my hands of any obligations to carry it around. I needed my hands to carry something else.

"Do you trust me?" I reached out to Elsa. She seemed hesitant, but at last she took the remaining steps to close the distance between us.  
I wrapped my arms securely around her tiny waste. Her head came halfway up to my abdomen.

"Ready?" I asked. Of course, I didn't wait for a response.

We rose up from the ground. Our feet were about five inches from the floor.  
Elsa let out a shriek of excitement.  
Her eyes shone radiantly as she looked downward to her legs swinging in the air.  
Her mouth gaped open in absolute amazement.

It's a beautiful picture I keep safe in the back my mind, never wishing to forget.

We continued to elevate higher and higher until we had risen enough for Elsa to reach up and brush her fingers against the ceiling.  
Still holding on to her small figure, I swept us to the right of the room. The wind rushed through our hair. It nagged at Elsa braid, tearing strands loose with it's giddiness.

That's how we spend our moments together for the second time.

I spun Elsa all around her bedroom, allowing her to know what it feels like to let yourself soar.

When the afternoon had slipped away into evening and evening into night, Elsa told me that her parents would be arriving to her room to tuck her in for bedtime.

"I should go." I said, resignedly.

"Will you come back?"

"Of course."

And back through the window I went, disappearing from Elsa's life yet again.


	3. Chapter 3

It was a good many years before I was able to go back to Arendelle.

When I finally did, it was easy to see that something had shifted greatly.  
As I flew over the village square to head to the palace, I took note that many of the villagers were rather dull and dreary.  
Their attire consisted of black and gray... and more black.

They appeared to be in mourning.

Worry instantly seized me, as I hoped all was well with my friend, Elsa.

I leapt through the air, more rapidly than before. The wind rushed up from behind me as I flew, propelling me even faster.  
With much desperation, my bare feet pounded against the nothingness below them.  
I clenched my staff tightly in my left hand. I could vaguely feel my nails digging in to the familiarity of the wood. I hoped there wouldn't be any nail indentations left on it (when I was able to examine it later, I was pleased to find that there weren't).

I was nearing the castle then, scouting out for her window.  
Little triangles cut into the roof of the castle, extending outward several feet. Brown shingles covered these protruding areas the same as the rest of the roof.  
There were several of these triangular extensions, all of which encased their own window.

I knew that one of these windows would lead me to Elsa. Even after all this time, I could remember exactly which one it was.

With one last leap, my body surged through the sky. My feet made contact with the ledge outside her window. I landed upright, my body not jarring the slightest bit from the force of my flight. I was as light as a gust of air.

The first thing I noticed was that Elsa's window was covered in ice. I wanted so much to peer through, but the glass was frosted over. Even squinting, I could see nothing.

I flung my fist into the window and banged on it as hard as I could. "Elsa, are you there?" I called out.

My response was a frigid silence.

I'd never felt the cold as much as I did then. The frost emanating from the glass bit into my skin, digging in with a bitterness I disliked very much.  
In that moment, I felt something I hadn't felt since I first came into the world as Jack Frost:

_Loss._

Had I lost Elsa? Was she gone?

It was like I had something that was very precious, but I hadn't realized it until someone tried to take it away.

I was about to depart the ledge to find another window that I could actually see through.

Just as I was about to turn away, white fabric brushed away a circle of ice from inside the bedroom.  
It was the fabric of a glove; Elsa's glove.

Her face emerged in the window. I was able to make out just enough of her through the space she had cleared away.  
Her presence immediately chased away all of those devastating things lurking in my heart.

With a sigh of relief, I was able to come to terms with the fact that I hadn't lost her.  
_Thank goodness, I hadn't lost her._

Her face disappeared from view again, but I didn't fret.  
I could hear the sound of the window frame shifting. She was attempting to lift it, but the ice had frozen it shut. The frame did not wish to budge.

I clenched my fingers onto the window from the outside, tugging along with her.  
Knowing that this sheet of glass was the only thing separating me from her, I used all the strength that was within me to try to thrust it open.

The ice began cracking; it was our signal that it was weakening under the strain.

Without warning, the frame lurched up with a frightening thud.

Elsa's tear-stained face was waiting for me through the window.  
When my bare feet reached the cold of her bedroom floor, I was able to really see how much she'd changed since I'd seen her last.  
She was hardly the little girl I remembered her as.  
She was tall, thin, and feminine.  
Her hair was pulled back into an elegant bun, which allowed one to appreciate the features of her face more fully.

She stood before me, looking helpless.

The room around her was as frozen as her window had been.  
Shards of ice were suspended in the air, floating in an abyss of melancholy.

"What's happened?" I asked her.

"My parents died." She choked. Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over. If they succeeded, they would retraced the path of dried salt remaining on her cheeks still.

I reached out to comfort her, but she pulled away.

"Don't come any closer, Jack." She warned.

"Elsa, you can't hurt me, remember?" I tried to break through to her.

A knock came at the door. It was a quiet knock, but we both heard it quite loudly.  
It spoke volumes.  
I could sense that, even though it might've seemed like such a trivial thing, it had taken a lot for whoever was on the opposite side to manage it.

"_Please,_" It was her sister. "_I know you're in there..._"

"You should talk to her." I urged.

Elsa shook her head. She distanced herself from the door, heading back to the window to stare out at the gloomy atmosphere of her kingdom.  
She left her sister to suffer alone.  
I almost wished I could have let her sister see what I saw.

Her sister didn't know that the other side of the door was coated in a layer of ice.  
Her sister didn't know what was really beyond the door she knocked upon.

I turned away from the door and came to Elsa's side as close as I dared.

Her face was expressionless and her eyes were empty as she stared out at nothing in particular. Finally, she drew away from the window and let her gaze rest upon my face.

"You can't hurt me." I whispered again.  
I broke through the barrier and wrapped my arms around her.

On my third visit to see Elsa, I stood there and simply hugged her.

We neither played, nor talked. We neither laughed, nor cried.

A silence tangled itself into our embrace. It was silent enough for me to realize that I did not know what I was feeling.  
I felt two things; one which was good and another which was bad.

The first thing I felt was some sort of affection for the girl. I had known from the very first instant I laid eyes upon her that I felt a connection to her, but it was morphing into something much bigger.

The second thing I felt was much like the feeling of terror which had overcome me when I feared I had lost her.  
It was a feeling of loss, but I hadn't a clue why.

When the time of our third visit had come to an end, I went back out through the window to leave Elsa again.

"Will you come back?" She called to me as I was flying away.

I halted briefly to glance back at her and smirk. "Of course."


	4. Chapter 4

My fourth visit to see Elsa took place exactly three years after the third one.

The kingdom was much more lively this time around. I figured a big event must've been taking place that day because the kingdom was decorated gloriously and the spirit of the people was lively. Crowds were flooding over the bridge to the castle gates. The gates were not yet opened, but the guards were lurking nearby, preparing to let the villagers in soon.

I found Elsa where I expected to, and I was very relieved to see that the window was clear of all frost this time.  
I was able to peer in without hindrance.

My throat caught when my brain was able to process what I was seeing. I was seeing Elsa, but she was far more beautiful than she was in memory.  
That is not to say that I remembered her as being ugly, but that she had grown even more radiantly in those two years.  
It was hard to imagine her as the young girl she had once been.  
It was hard to imagine myself playing hide and seek with her.

While reminiscing at the window, I couldn't help but blush.

I shook the thoughts away, returning my attention to the present.  
I was there and I had to do what I was there to do.  
I was there to be with Elsa.

I tapped on the glass, ever so gently.

"Jack?" She made her way to the window, ever so slowly. Even from out here, I could hear the thuds of her footsteps.

"Hey, Elsa." I smirked.

Together, we pulled the window frame up. It was a much easier task than last time, as the window wasn't frozen.

"It's my coronation today." She spoke as I came into the room. She had her arms crossed as she began to pace in a nervous manner. "It may not be the best day for you to come here."

"I would love to be here for it-"

"No," She interrupted. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Her shoes clicked against the floor as she walked over to look upon a picture hanging on the wall. I recognized the man in the painting as the same regal figure who had tucked her into bed all those years ago. This man was her father.  
Elsa's eyes were filled with longing. I understood why.  
There's nothing worse than wanting something you know you can't have.

Beneath the painting was a long, wooden table. A candlestick and a rounded jewelry box were upon it. They were peculiar items, but I didn't judge.

"I can't do this." She muttered.

"Yes, you can." I encouraged. "If anyone can... it's you."

She bit down on her lip.  
Hesitating briefly, she pulled the turquoise gloves from her hands and placed them atop the wood table. Sighing, she picked up the strange items; the candlestick in her left hand and the jewelry box in her right.  
She turned around to face me. The fabric of her cloak whooshed around her body.

I could see now that she was using these unusual objects to imitate the regalia.  
Hanging above her, the painting of her father at his coronation matched her pose almost to perfection. The only difference was that the candlestick was substituted for the scepter and the jewelry box for the golden orb.

The expression on her face replicated the seriousness on her father's. Drained of every ounce of playfulness, I could hardly believe she had ever been a child.  
I longed to return her lighthearted spirit, but I knew that I couldn't.  
Floating her up to the ceiling couldn't fix the frozen fractals lying stagnant in her heart.

Her bare hands touching the stand-in regalia proved to be too much. Ice spread upward from her palms and began to crawl up both the candlestick and the jewelry box, engulfing the objects with it's frigid power.

"No." Elsa muttered under her breath. She turned back to the table and set the items in their previous places to let them thaw.  
She yanked back on the turquoise gloves, concealing her powers within.

"You can do this, Elsa." I persuaded, inching toward her a few steps.

"It's only one day." She whispered, more to herself than to me. "It's only for today."

I could still see out the window from where I stood. It overlooked the bridge leading to the palace gates. Clear water spread itself out on either side of the bridge. I couldn't help but think it must make for some good skating during wintertime.

The crowd at the gates was much larger than when I first arrived. Some of these people had traveled great distances to be there that day.  
They still awaited patiently, but even from where I stood, I could see that restlessness was settling in.

"They're all waiting for you." I said.

"It's agony to wait." She murmured.

Gathering all the courage within her, she straightened her back and held her head up high, preparing for one of the most frightening moments of her life.

Elsa was coming out of her room.

I hovered at her side as she strode across her bedroom floor, her cloak flowing behind her.  
She fought to clear her face of all the fear clouding within the dark crevices of her frozen heart.  
With still hands refusing to tremble, she reached out and pulled the doors wide open.

It was time to open the gates.

I followed Elsa down the hall.  
I didn't need to worry about being discreet as I followed her because I knew that I could be seen by no one else.  
I was there solely to be her support in whatever way I could.  
I almost expected her to object, but she did not suggest I depart.

Once again, I felt something nagging me within.  
Two feelings which I did not understand, nor did I wish to.  
The first feeling was that affection I spoke of before and the second feeling was puzzling beyond comprehension:

_Loss._


	5. Chapter 5

From atop the roof of her bedroom window, I watched as Arendelle was plunged into an eternal winter. The snow began to waft to the ground, creating a blanket of white.  
I wasn't uncomfortable by the plummeting temperatures, but I knew the people below were very much so.

She had fled over the fjord, freezing it over with each desperate step she took.

The fear had reached it's breaking point and she couldn't conceal it any longer.

My staff dug into the shingles of the roof. I leaned my weight on it as I turned my head up to look upon the moon.  
It was almost exactly the same moon which was in the sky on the night I had first met my dear friend, Elsa.

It was big and round and bright.

The moonlight shimmering upon me gave me a ghostly appearance. The white light shone against my achromatic hair, causing it to glow in an eerie manner.  
It did not particularly matter; no one could see my figure on the roof.  
I wished they could, but they could not.  
Only Elsa could ever see.

Below me, plans were being arranged for her sister to go after Elsa.

Even after all that had happened, she still remained loyal to her sister.

She was going to adventure up into the mountains, all alone, just for Elsa.  
She was going to trek over the treacherous snow and into the dreadful cold.

She left on horseback, beginning her journey.

I stood upon the roof and watched her go.  
I dug my staff in harder. The unbearable scraping sound of the rod against the shingles caused me to grimace.  
The bitter gusts of wind passed straight through me. I felt nothing of it's biting cold.  
I didn't shiver, nor did my teeth chatter.

But, I felt alone and that was far more numbing than the cold could have ever been.

There on the roof, with the moonlight glistening it's beams upon me, I understood the first feeling I felt for Elsa.  
I imagine you probably already had this figure out, didn't you?

It was love.

"I... _love_... Elsa?" I whispered to myself, or perhaps to the moon. "_I love Elsa._"

My breathing grew faster, excitement and exhilaration combining in ragged gulps of air.  
With this realization, I knew that I had to find Elsa. I had to go after her.

I leapt off the roof and soared through the night sky.  
My body was one with the wind, maneuvering as if it were actually just another breeze.  
My heart was beating like a drum in my chest. It's rhythm was familiar; it was beating out a song that I knew to be Elsa.

I increased my speed. I was shooting through the sky faster than ever before. I was barreling through the clouds, causing them to disperse into little puffs scattered about in the atmosphere.

At this lightning pace, it didn't take me very long to reach the North Mountain.  
As soon as I came near, I knew this was where she had gone.

A large, magnificent palace rose up on the side of the North Mountain. It was made entirely of ice.  
I'd never seen anything quite as spectacular before; at least, not that I remember.  
The moonbeams bounced off of the shiny surface of the palace. One iridescent flicker in particular caught my eye.  
It was a window.

I catapulted my body toward it.  
I suppose I could have landed gently on the ledge outside the window, which was actually a block of ice, but I didn't. I could have knocked subtly against the delicate, frozen pane, but I didn't. I could have called her name ever so softly, but I didn't.  
I had done all these things before.  
I was ready to do something new.  
I was ready to shatter the walls Elsa had built around herself. I was ready to break through and dispose of that awful fear within her.  
I would even daresay that I was ready to thaw her frozen heart.

I lunged straight through the window, shattering the pane into many, tiny broken fragments scattering all around the room.

Elsa jumped back. She lifted her hands up, sheilding her face from the frozen fragments flying toward her.

I wanted to cover my ears from the awful sound reverberating into them, but I didn't. I let the shrill sound of broken ice pierce my eardrums until it died down.

I landed within the walls of the palace, trying my best to avoid contact with the sharp pieces of ice lying on the surface of the floor. My bare feet would not have appreciated stepping on them.

When all the fragments had fallen and had slid to a stop on the slippery ground, Elsa rose back up and let her arms return to her side.

I felt as if I'd choked on the coolness of the air.  
Her beauty was more than I ever thought any human girl could possess.  
She had changed, dramatically.

Her light colored hair was pulled back into a messy braid draping over her shoulder. It sparkled with blue gems that seemed to be made of snowflakes.  
Her dress was also blue (it had always been her favorite color). The bodice shimmered as if it were a crystallized snowstorm embellished onto fabric.  
Somewhere in the back of the dress, a long see-through cape trailed down behind her and onto the floor.

Realizing I wasn't breathing, I let the air escape from my lungs. It emerged from my lips as a cloud of fog.

"What are you doing here, Jack?" She demanded. "You shouldn't be here... you should go."

"Elsa, I..." My voice faded away.

_I love you._

I glided across the room to her, closing in the distance between us.  
Her eyes grew large. I knew she was afraid of my closeness, but she should have known by then that she couldn't hurt me.

In that moment, I decided to do the one thing I longed to do.

I let my lips press against Elsa's. It was surprisingly cold; like kissing an icicle dripping off the branch of a tree.  
It was expectantly beautiful.  
It lasted for no more than a few seconds. It ended prematurely due to a sharp pain in my chest.  
It felt as though one of those jagged fragments of ice had pierced through my heart, but I knew nothing of the sort had happened.

The pain I felt was only the realization of what this loss aching within me all this time had actually meant.

I couldn't thaw her frozen heart.  
I couldn't because you cannot thaw something frozen with something else that is frozen.  
Have you ever tried to take an ice cube and melt it with another ice cube? Have you ever seen the snow on the ground melt as more snow drifted to the ground on top of it?

I couldn't save Elsa.

I drew away from her, abruptly.

Our eyes were wide as we looked upon one another.  
The fog of our breath was the only thing that touched.

"Goodbye." I whispered.

With that, I turned away and leapt back through the opening I had made in the window.

"Will you come back?" She called out to me. If I had looked back, I knew I would have seen her peering at me through the empty frame.

But I didn't look back and I didn't respond.

There was no time to waste on such trivial things when there were important things to be done.

I was going to find her sister.

Why? Because I knew that, while I could not, her sister would be able to thaw Elsa's frozen heart.  
Even though she wouldn't be able to see me, I would be there. I would be guiding her up to the North Mountain.

I would be her guardian.

Maybe one day I would pass through the window again to be with Elsa, but that day hasn't yet come.

_**A/N: First off... this Jelsa stuff I've been doing needs to stop. I don't have any idea what I'll do next, but it won't be Jelsa. Well, it won't be Jelsa unless I'm totally struck by this amazing idea that I just HAVE to write. But... otherwise, it won't be Jelsa.**_

_**This was the shortest fic I've written, but I wanted to try my hand at writing something more fluff-oriented than something primarily plot driven.  
Also, I apologize for the semi-sad ending. No closure for y'all! *Insert evil laughter here***_

_**How did you feel about this short stuff vs. full length fics?**_

_**This one took me about a week to write due to the fact that I was taking my time (and extremely unfocused).  
*Pokes my lookup* There's this really touching life story about my focus on there. I'm not kidding; grab the tissues and prepare for your life to change.**_

_**Actually, I am kidding...**_

_**Anyway, thank y'all so much for reading my fic and...**_

_**Until we meet again,  
~Aubri**_


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